Ofsted Outstanding Rating Retained by St Mary’s for Third Time

The School of Education at St Mary’s University, Twickenham (SMU) has once again retained its Ofsted Outstanding rating in all categories for Primary and Secondary Initial Teacher Training. This cements the University’s place as one of the country’s leading teacher training providers.

St Mary’s University has been rated as Outstanding since 2011, retaining the status in 2019, and now again in June 2024. Into its second decade as an Outstanding rated institution, the report found that at SMU trainee teachers ‘’benefit from first-class levels of support from university staff from the point of application” and that, “The curriculum places a strong emphasis on current, credible research, which shapes all aspects of training and mentoring.”

Speaking of the report, Head of School of Education at St Mary’s, Dr Jane Chambers, added, “I am delighted with the Outstanding outcome of this latest Ofsted report. The education lecturers at St Mary’s are amongst the best in the country. They deliver a fantastic experience and outcomes for our students, who go on to flourishing careers educating our next generations, and this report is a great endorsement of all they do.”

At SMU, Primary trainee teachers learn how to teach all core and foundation subjects, while Secondary trainees “develop deep knowledge of the disciplinary aspects” of their specialist subject. All trainees have the opportunity to develop an ‘’exceptional understanding of the curriculum’’ including, inclusion special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and English as an additional language (EAL). Trainees are provided with ‘’the best possible all round start to a teaching career.’’

When speaking to current students, inspectors found that, “Trainees praise the depth and quality of this exceptionally ambitious ITE curriculum. The result of this being, “trainees demonstrate a remarkably strong grasp of how pupils learn’’ allowing them ‘’not only to be the best possible teachers but also to be school leaders of the future.’’.

St Mary’s Vice-Chancellor Anthony McClaran said, “Excellence is one of our core values, and I am delighted to see that the School of Education continues to deliver this through its teacher training provision. SMU was founded in 1850 to train teachers and the result of this latest inspection demonstrates that we have maintained this strong foundation, as we look forward to continuing this tradition for many years to come as one of the country’s top providers.”

The full report from Ofsted can be read here.